[1][2] His great-grandfather was Massachusetts Governor John Davis, and his grandfather was Civil War Officer Norwood Penrose Hallowell.
[5] During the 1930s, Davis participated in the development of electroencephalography and was the first person in the United States to have his brain waves scanned by an EEG device.
He focused on the physiology of the inner ear, investigating how neurological impulses are transmitted to the brain via the cochlear nerve.
[1] Research by Davis presented to the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1952 showed that hair cells in the inner ear play a pivotal role in transforming the mechanical stimulus of sound into electrical impulses to be sent to and processed by the brain.
[8] During the 1960s, Davis served on the National Research Council's Committee on the Sonic Boom and Supersonic Transport, where he argued that the noise would result in hearing irritation to the public, in addition to being an economic risk.